


i'd rather lose sleep

by artemls



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Pidge | Katie Holt is So Done, Pining, but loves her friends anyway, don't tell anyone tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-06 07:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15189452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artemls/pseuds/artemls
Summary: “What Hunk meant to say was, we thought you liked Keith,” Pidge told him.A beat of silence passed as they waited for Lance’s reaction.“So by Keith, you mean Keith Kogane?” Lance asked dumbly. “My new friend slash ex-rival Keith Kogane?”"Yeah. That Keith," Hunk said.“Uhhh no. No no nonono. What even made you think that?”Sure, Lance found Keith cute a few times. He admired the dude for being smart too and his awkwardness made his bad boy aura funnily attractive, but a crush? Pshh. No way. Not even close.





	1. friend crush? yeah, sure

"Keith," Lance said as he took a deep breath. "Push harder."

Lance felt Keith move closer behind him as he followed Lance’s instruction. Sweat was beginning to drip down both of their faces from the half an hour's worth of struggle. The heat in Lance's room was not much of a help either.

Keith grunted behind Lance. He stopped pushing and looked over Lance's shoulder to look at his face, which had begun to turn red from exhaustion. "Come on Keith," Lance whined. "Don't stop."

“I’m trying,” Keith said, moving his body closer to Lance’s as he pushed harder.

After a few minutes, Keith sighed and pulled his arms away. "I told you this will never work. If you just listened to me I could've been in my own dorm room right now watching Netflix," he frowned and lied down onto his back on Lance's bed. He wiped the sweat off his forehead using the back of his hand.

Lance sighed, his arms feeling like jelly, and lied down on the spot beside Keith. He threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "Oh, shut up! You know you love hanging out with me." He flicked Keith's nose and quickly jumped away from the bed when he saw Keith's glare. Lance looked down at the mess on the floor beside his bed and his spirits seemed to die down once more.

"Besides,” Lance continued. “Even if I wanted to listen to your advice, I can't just throw away all of these!" He gestured to the boxes they were trying to push under his bed, which was already filled with other 'garbage', as Keith had called them. "You know how much of a hoarder I am. I can’t help that I’m a sentimental boy."

Keith sat up halfway, using his elbows for support. "Why don't you put them underneath Hunk's bed?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow. Lance and Hunk were both roommates while Keith shared a room with Pidge. Hunk could have been the one helping Lance with the stuff but he had stayed behind in class for a project he and Pidge were working on and thus, Lance came to Keith for help and insisted they strengthen their bond. And their upper body strength, apparently.

_“Nice to know that I’m your last choice,” Keith had said to Lance before he entered their room._

_“Yeah, too bad Shiro is visiting Matt,” Lance said just to push Keith’s buttons. “I’m sure he would’ve been a much better help.”_

_Lance yelped as Keith punched him on the shoulder. A few minutes passed and they were wrestling on Lance’s bed, laughing like the idiots they both were._

Lance tried to stop the grin forming on his face. The truth was, Lance did not want to end up alone with Keith because his mouth tended to run without any filter and he did not want Keith to hear the rest of the stupidity that he could blurt out when he wasn’t thinking properly. He had just become friends with the dude after a long time of petty but playful fights (which still happened, but not as much as it used to) and he did not want to ruin their newfound friendship.

“I could but Hunk hoards almost as much as I do,” Lance answered Keith’s question.

“Huh,” Keith said as he saw how much stuff was also occupying the space underneath Hunk’s bed. Keith stood up and dusted his hands. He grabbed his hoodie that was draped over a chair beside the bed and slung it over his shoulder. “Let’s go. Help me put the rest of your stuff in my room.” He picked up what he could fit into his arms. When he realized Lance wasn’t following, he stopped walking and turned to face him.

Lance stared at him in confusion. “W-What?” he stammered.

“Well, I figured that I don’t have much stuff in my room anyway and I’m sure Pidge won’t mind since it’ll all be under my bed so why not, right? Plus, you live like one floor above us so I guess it won’t be hard if you wanted to... Uh Lance, you okay?” Keith stopped talking when it looked like Lance was not listening.

Keith looked at him weirdly and Lance hoped he did not see how red he knew his face was judging by the heat he felt on it.  _Snap out of it!_  Lance scolded himself in his head.  _Ugh, why did Keith have to be so cute and thoughtful when he was not being a dick?_

“Come on,” Keith frowned. “My arms are getting tired so you better fucking move your ass before I change my mind.” He turned to walk out of the room.

 _Aaaand, cuteness gone_.

Lance huffed, gathering the rest of his stuff into his arms before following Keith out of his room. “Wait Keith, buddy! Are you sure about this?” He rushed out after him, wondering what the foreign feeling in his stomach was.

 

* * *

 

Three days passed since Keith helped Lance sort out some of the stuff Lance accumulated during their first few months in college. It was almost five in the afternoon when Lance, Hunk and Pidge were seated in a small pastry shop that Allura worked at. She was not working that day but their group hung out in the place ever since Allura told them about it and they eventually fell in love with the food and how cozy the place was.

“You know how much I hate my seven a.m. classes, yeah?” Lance asked Hunk and Pidge.

“I don’t know, it’s not like I had to hear you complain about it whenever we were together for about a month and a half after you got your schedule,” Pidge said. “I was so glad I wasn’t your roommate. Felt bad for Hunk though.”

Hunk shrugged. “Nah it was fine. It’s a miracle you’re still surviving that, Lance. I know I wouldn’t have. Why do you ask though?”

“Thanks Hunk,” Lance smiled warmly at him. “Anyway, there’s this really cute guy that I have been crushing on for about a week now and– “

Hunk looked at Lance in confusion. “I thought you liked Ke- uhh, someone else who isn't in that class?”

“Kia? I don’t know a Kia,” Lance said. He saw Pidge face-palm herself in his peripheral vision.

“What Hunk meant to say was, we thought you liked Keith,” Pidge told him.

A beat of silence passed as they waited for Lance’s reaction.

“So by Keith, you mean Keith Kogane?” Lance asked dumbly. “My new friend slash ex-rival Keith Kogane?”

"Yeah. That Keith," Hunk said.

“Uhhh no. No no nonono. What even made you think that?”

Sure, Lance found Keith cute a few times. He admired the dude for being smart too and his awkwardness made his bad boy aura funnily attractive, but a  _crush_? Pshh. No way. Not even close.

“Let me think, maybe it was the time you practically drooled when you first saw him. Or maybe when you stare at him like a love-struck fool when you think no one’s looking. Or that one time you said he was cute when he laughed so hard that juice came out of his nose.” Pidge made a disgusted face at the memory.

“Huuunk, help me out here," Lance turned to him and pouted.

“Uh okay,” Hunk said, trying to think. “Oh! There was this time when you wondered out loud what it was like to be hugged by Keith and the time when you- “

“Hunk!” Lance groaned.

“O-Oh, I thought you meant help you out with realizing your feelings,” he smiled sheepishly.

“Hmph. Anyway, you’re both so wrong. Anyone who could see will find him attractive.” Lance said as he picked up his muffin. He smiled as he took a bite of it. “Mmm. So good.”

Lucky for him, they dropped the subject when Hunk pursed his lips and Pidge shrugged her shoulders looking completely unconvinced. He still wasn’t safe though because he knew that the topic would come up again in the near future.

Naturally, he wondered where Keith was.

The four of them tried their best to meet together at least twice a week when they were not busy. Sometimes, it was with Shiro or Allura when Shiro was around and Allura wasn't working or if they had time but damn, the two of them were always busy admiringly so. They mostly stayed in the café or in the library since they knew no work would have been done if they stayed in one of their dorm rooms.

“I thought you didn't like that muffin. That’s like your third one today,” Pidge observed. She took a sip of her second cup of coffee.

“You know everything tastes twice as good when you’re hungry,” Lance said, taking another bite. “I am never taking advantage of this muffin ever again.”

“Ew, don’t talk while eating,” Pidge scrunched her nose. She shrieked when Lance stuck his tongue out. “Gross.”

Lance snickered, taking a sip of his smoothie. He heard the door to the café open. “Keith!” Pidge waved her arms. Lance’s head automatically whipped around to hearing his name.

“Hey!” Hunk smiled brightly. “We were starting to worry when you didn’t come on time.”

“Sorry guys. I had to talk to a professor,” Keith sat down on his usual spot beside Lance.

“Now that Keith’s here,” Pidge smirked. “Go shove your tongue somewhere else, Lance.” She tried to go for an innocent look on her face but Lance saw through it. He always did.

Lance started choking on his muffin which made Pidge laugh out loud. Keith patted Lance’s back, looking confused and worried. “You okay?”

“Oh absolutely!” Lance glared at Pidge and her smile widened.

“Here,” Hunk pushed a plate of food towards Keith.

“Thanks,” Keith said in surprise when he saw that it was his favorite. “I’ll pay you later, Hunk.”

“You should tell Lance that,” Pidge smirked again. Keith turned to him.

“Nah, you don’t have to,” Lance said, shrugging. He was so going to kill Pidge after this. “I just figured I couldn't let you scare the workers with your face if you were the one to order.” He explained like he was doing Keith a favor. He shrugged and took another bite of his heavenly muffin.

Pidge rolled her eyes at that while Keith muttered a “whatever” like he was already used to Lance’s weirdly kind yet insulting gestures.

“By the way, what were you saying about this guy in your class?” Hunk asked Lance.

“Oh yeah!” Lance smiled.

“What guy?” Keith asked with a frown.

“Awkward,” Pidge muttered in a singsong voice and Hunk shushed her.

“There’s this cute guy in my class that I had been crushing on for about a week now and guess what?”

“You realized he's actually not that great and stopped crushing on him?” Keith asked with a look that Lance can’t seem to figure out.

“Ha ha, very funny Keith but nope,” Lance said. “He asked me out!”

“What?” Pidge and Hunk said at once while Keith was silent.

“Yeah! We’re going out next Friday,” he beamed. It was the day before when the guy suddenly sat next to him in class. Lance’s heart did not take it but he tried his best to talk to him and they ended talking and whispering to each other throughout the lecture. After class as they walked outside the room, they realized that they both had a free period and talked and flirted some more. He told Lance about noticing him since the first day and how it was only then he had worked up his courage to approach him. It was after that when he asked Lance out and they exchanged numbers.

He sighed at the memory.

“Oh,” Keith said and looked down. When he looked back up, he had a smile on his face. “I’m happy for you. Although I never thought the day would come when you finally got a date.” He smirked and Lance heard Pidge groan in frustration.

“Don’t be jealous Keith, I’m sure you’ll find a date of your own. Can’t promise you that it won’t take a hundred years or so, though.”

Keith glared at him. "You fu-"

“I just remembered,” Hunk suddenly said, cutting off what Keith was about to say to Lance. Keith frowned but he let it go and waited for what Hunk was about to say instead. “Pidge and I are not gonna be able to make it to movie night. We have to finish working on this project for class, you see.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” Pidge said gloomily. Pidge loved movie nights and was always the one to suggest they watch alien documentaries alongside Keith. This time, Lance had agreed with them which was quite unfortunate for her because he rarely agreed to their suggestions. After being silent for a few seconds, her back straightened and Lance swore he saw her glasses glint. “I guess you two will have to watch without us. Alone.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Keith said and turned to Lance. “What do you want me to bring?”

“Nah, you don’t have to bring anything. I already got the snacks covered,” Lance replied.

“You mean Keith himself is already a snack,” Pidge laughed.

“Pidge!” Hunk said. Lance was so lucky to have his best friend by his si– “I was just about to say the same thing!” Hunk laughed with Pidge. Traitor.

Lance turned away from them and faced Keith instead and was surprised when he saw the pink that tinged Keith’s cheeks, making Lance feel even more embarrassed. “Don’t mind them. And if anyone’s a snack, it’s me.” Lance winked at Keith, trying to lighten the mood.

“As if.” Keith rolled his eyes but Lance saw a hint of a smile on his lips, making his own grin widen.

Lance wouldn’t admit it but being friends with Keith was so much better than fighting with him. And it had absolutely nothing to do with his ‘crush', as Pidge had said, on Keith. It was more like genuinely wanting to be friends with someone. A ‘friend crush’.

Yeah, that’s it.

After the four of them finished eating, Lance and Keith headed back to their dorms while Hunk and Pidge headed to the school building. Lance was telling Keith jokes on the way that had Keith laughing at how stupid they were, and it was fine because Lance loved making people smile. But someone please tell him why Keith’s smile made him feel weird compared to when he made other people laugh.

“That is so stupid! It’s so unfunny it’s hilarious.” Keith laughed harder, his eyes crinkling. He tried to calm himself down but the corner of his lips twitched upward once in a while.

“Excuse me? My jokes are hilarious!” Lance said but grinned nonetheless. He bumped his left shoulder against Keith's right and Keith nudged him back.

Keith smiled. “You’re something else, Lance.” He bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing again but failed and that was when Lance really looked at Keith and thought:

_Oh, fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yes i'm reposting this bc why not
> 
> hope u enjoy!! and if u want, leave a comment about what u think so far ^^
> 
> (btw the first chapter is the only thing reposted meaning the upcoming chapters are on here for the first time so yeah)


	2. chip wars and pillow fights

_I do_ not  _have a crush on Keith. I was just tired earlier. Yeah._

It would’ve been bad if Lance did, right? They had just become friends! And Keith obviously didn’t like him that way. And if he did like Keith and he got rejected, things would’ve become awkward between them and Keith would’ve told Shiro because they were brothers so he’d be weird around Lance too. Also, Shiro and Matt were close so it was likely for Matt to spill something to Pidge if Keith hadn’t have told her first and by then it would’ve reached Hunk and Allura, then they’d have acted weird with Lance and… and basically, friendships ruined!

So yeah, it was definitely a good thing he did  _not_ like Keith.

Lance sat down on his bed and opened his laptop to get ready for movie night. He wished the others weren’t busy so he wouldn’t be distracted by Keith– wait. Why would he have been distracted by him, anyway? Because of his mullet?

Lance snorted and shook his head.

He was waiting for Keith, who had insisted on bringing more snacks even though Lance told him not to, when his phone rang. He wondered why Gwen from one of his classes was calling him.

“Hey, what’s up?” Lance answered his phone. Gwen was one of the people he talked to in their shared class but they never hung out outside of it so he was curious as to why she was calling on a Friday night.

“Hey Lance. Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to ask if you wrote down notes related to the essay? I wasn’t sure if I missed anything so…” Gwen said apologetically.

“Notes?” Lance asked, suddenly sitting up straight. “When is this essay you’re talking about due again?”

“Oh God, did you forget about it? It’s due later at midnight.”

“Fuck,” Lance cursed to himself, then realized Gwen probably heard him. “Oh, sorry um, I should probably get to it right now.”

“You really should,” she said, sounding concerned for him. “I mean, I know you could do it but feel free to call or text me when you need help, okay? Bye.”

“Thanks, I’ll message you the notes later. Bye!”

Lance hurriedly sat on his desk with his laptop and began typing what made the most sense in his brain, which was not a lot, given the situation.

“Hey Lance, I wasn’t sure which flavor of chips you liked better so I got you three,” he heard Keith say as he entered the room. He walked to Lance’s side and peered on what he was working on. “What are you doing?”

Lance’s mind was a mess in that moment so he just nodded in response and muttered a thanks. He looked at the time on his laptop. He had at least five more hours.

“Lance!” Keith said loudly and close to his ear which startled him out of the zone he was in.

“Oh, hey,” Lance smiled sheepishly. “So uh, I sort of forgot about this essay I was supposed to be working on a week ago so you can start without me if you don’t want to wait. Sorry.”

Keith nodded. “It’s fine. It’s a good thing I brought my laptop, huh? Just tell me if you need help.”

“Sure. Thanks, Keith.” Lance smiled at him and returned back to his work. Keith sat on Lance’s bed beside the desk he was working on. A few minutes passed by and Lance did not know why he was so aware of Keith’s presence beside him so he stopped and turned to him. “Hey Keith?"

“Hm?” Keith took out one earphone when he noticed Lance talking to him.

“Is it okay if you watch on Hunk’s bed instead?”

“…Why?”

“I-I uh, I can hear what you’re watching through your earphones.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m used to having the volume all the way up.” Lance felt relieved. He didn’t know that would work. “I’ll just turn it down instead, if you want.”

“No!”

Keith tilted his head in confusion.

“Um, you also move too much when you watch. It’s kinda distracting since you’re so close, you know?” Okay, that was partly a lie since he did move a little and not as much as Lance was saying he was.

Keith stayed quiet for a few moments and Lance felt sweat drip down the side of his forehead. Keith shrugged. “Okay,” he said and moved to Hunk’s bed.

Lance silently released a sigh of relief. Now what word was he looking for again?

He groaned. This would happen once in a while in a span of two hours. He stretched his arms above his head before going back to work. He was about halfway done and was practically smashing the keyboard at that point. Then he stopped, feeling as if he was forgetting something. Lance put his head in his hands and groaned in frustration. Again.

“Okay, that’s it,” he heard Keith say and his head turned to him.

“Are you done watching?” Lance asked, hands dropping on his desk.

“No. Now _I’m_ getting distracted by _you_ ,” Keith frowned. “Lance, you need to take a break.” He threw a bag of chips in Lance’s direction and accidentally hit his face.

“Hey!” Lance threw it right back, aiming for Keith's face but Keith dodged it and caught it with his hand. “I’m almost done anyway. I don’t need a break, though I do appreciate you caring about me.” He smirked, then went back to work. He was about to finish a sentence when he felt something hit his shoulder. He turned to Keith and glared. “Keith!”

“Yes, Lance?” he asked innocently, eyes widening.

Lance looked down on the floor to see the chip that was thrown at him before he quickly grabbed the nearest bag of it nearby and opened it. "Oh, it's on!" He grabbed a handful and ate it before picking another chip out to throw at Keith.

Keith jumped out of Hunk’s bed and fought back by throwing his own chips at Lance. "Ha!" Lance let out a small laugh when one that he threw got stuck in Keith’s hair.

When they decided not to waste anymore food, they ended up tackling each other onto the carpeted floor. “Hey!” Keith yelled when Lance grabbed a pillow and started hitting Keith with it. “That is so not fair.”

“Oh sorry I did not know there were rules,” Lance grinned and smacked Keith again but his grin faltered once Keith rolled them over so he was on top of Lance. They both wrestled for the pillow and Lance’s eyes widened when Keith got a hold of it. “Okay, okay! You win,” he exclaimed, trying to catch his breath. He raised his hands in surrender. Keith smirked, putting the pillow down.

“Ten for me, zero for you. Another day another victory,” Keith laughed, getting off of Lance to lie down on the floor beside him. Lance didn’t know why he felt a bit disappointed. Maybe he should not have surrendered? Nah.

“What?! Where’d you get the other nine?” Lance turned to face Keith and a laugh escaped him when he noticed how disheveled Keith’s hair was. “You look stupid.”

“Geez, I’m hurt,” Keith said sarcastically. “You probably look more like a mess than I do though.”

They stayed like that for a few moments, trying to catch their breaths. Lance tried to fix his hair. Keith propped himself up a little with his elbows and looked around them. Food was scattered on the floor, and a few were on Hunk’s bed and Lance’s desk and chair. He chuckled. “Hunk is so going to kill us once he’s back.” He lied his head back down and looked at Lance. Lance tried to ignore how close their faces were. “You really didn’t have to go that far, Lance.”

Lance narrowed his eyes and punched Keith lightly on the shoulder. “Says the one who started it.”

He fought down a smile to try to look annoyed but failed so he turned to his other side instead.

_This was nice._

He liked moments like these with Keith. When they first became friends, he thought it would've been weird since he acted like he hated him before but he soon realized how easy it was to be with him. It wasn’t much different than when he hung out with other friends. Like the moment they were currently in. It felt exhilarating yet peaceful at the same time. There were no fighting (the chip and pillow war didn’t count), no stressing out–

“Oh shit, my essay!” Lance jumped from the floor to his desk and he heard Keith laugh behind him.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Loser.”

Lance’s head whipped up and saw Pidge approaching him. He was seated in the library trying to finish his homework so he didn’t have to worry about it in the future. He really learned a lesson from forgetting that damn essay (which he barely managed to turn in on time, by the way).

“What’s up?” He greeted, ignoring the nickname she gave him.

Pidge put her stuff down on the table before sitting down on the chair across Lance. “Class got cancelled last minute. Where’s Loser number two?”

"Who?"

"Keith."

Lance gave her a puzzled look. “Why does everybody assume I’m with Keith all the time? Hunk asked me about him this morning too.”

Pidge gave him a look. “Lance, I was just wondering if you knew where he was. He left his phone in the dorm and I wanted to give it back.”

“Oh.” He smiled apologetically and muttered, “And I thought  _I_  was the forgetful one.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “You are. You both are.”

He laughed a little at that. Okay, true.

“You might not notice it but you’re both alike in some ways,” she shrugged and smiled slightly.

Lance’s eyes widened. Did Pidge have a fond look on her face or was he just imagining it?

“Um,” she started. “I know it’s not any of my business and you’ve got a date coming up but… do you like Keith?”

“Sure. He’s actually pretty cool,” Lance said, finishing his homework.

“You know what I mean,” Pidge sighed.

Did Lance like him? Yeah. Did he like him  _romantically_?

He thought about Keith. How he smiled when Lance said something stupid, a quick remark always following right after. He thought about how grumpy he became multiple times when Lance tried to stop him from doing impulsive shit. How peaceful he looked when he fell asleep during one of their movie nights and Lance himself looking away when Allura, who once joined them because she wasn't busy, gave him a look that suggested she knew something he didn’t.

He cleared his throat. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly.

“Okay.”

Lance’s shoulder’s sagged, not noticing when he became so tense. He was relieved that Pidge didn't pry more into it because if he were being honest, he didn’t really want to think about it.

“Oh, and Lance?” Pidge said after a few seconds. “I was thinking about it and I know I make fun of you and Keith or whatever but please tell me if I go too far, okay?” Pidge squirmed a little in her seat. “I… I may not act like it but I do care about you guys and… I don’t know. I guess I’m kinda glad that you two became friends and I did not want to ruin that?”

Lance pursed his lips and placed a hand on his chest.

“I’m going to cry, Pidge.” Lance wiped a non-existent tear and Pidge covered her face with her hands and groaned. “But seriously though,” he said and Pidge drop her hands onto the table to fidget with the thread on her bag. “I don't really mind it since I know you don't mean anything bad by it and we’re friends but… thanks, Pidge.” He smiled and raised a hand to try and pinch her cheek but she smacked it away.

“Don’t even try,” she said, clearly trying to fight back a smile. “I’m going to cuss now though because that was too sweet for me and I get weird when haven’t had my coffee yet. Fuck you, Lance.”

“I’ll take it,” he shrugged. “I thought you only got cranky without coffee but now I know you also get emotional. Huh. Maybe I should prevent you from drinking it from now on.” He smiled in amusement.

She flipped him off.

“Now,” he said, clearly enjoying this. “Can you please say all of that again but let me record it this time instead? You know, so I have proof in case you deny any of this.”

Pidge groaned and put her head down on the table. Lance laughed and ruffled her hair. “Fuck off,” he heard her say, voice muffled. This time though, Pidge did not swat his hand away.

 

* * *

 

Lance was nervous.  _Why_  was he nervous?

It was already Friday and he just got out of class. This meant that it was almost time for his date, and he was _panicking_. When he arrived at their dorm, Hunk was fiddling with some device he built on his bed. He greeted Lance but wasn’t able to finish when he saw the look on his face.

After Hunk asked if he was fine and Lance said yes, he tried on a few outfits but none seemed to work. He removed the pink shirt he was wearing to try on a gray one. He turned to Hunk, who was watching with an amused look. “Is this any better?”

“You know you look good in all of them. I don’t get it though. Didn’t you already have an outfit ready last night? I feel like you’re just stalling, which is also weird since you hadn’t shut up about this guy since you told us about him.” Lance pouted at his answer. “It’s true though, Lance. But fine.” He squinted his eyes, trying to judge the outfit. “Yeah I’d say this is better than the other three.” He smiled.

Lance beamed at him. “Thanks, Hunk!” He looked at the time on his phone. “I gotta go now. Bye!” He grabbed a red jacket and put it on before heading out.

“Have fun on your date!” he heard Hunk call after him.

Lance bit his lip, feeling his palms start to sweat. No, he was not nervous about the date. They had actually talked a few more times in and out of class after he was asked out so he already felt at ease with the guy. And Hunk was right. He _had_ been talking about this nonstop not only with him but his other friends as well. Except Pidge. She easily got tired after he blabbed about it to her for about an hour when they hung out once during their break. Now that he thought about it, whenever he brought the topic up with Keith, the subject would change immediately but Lance did not think anymore of it since he knew Keith wasn't much for affection.

Lance neared the café they were meeting at and saw that his date was already waiting by the entrance with his phone in hand. He looked up and smiled sweetly once he saw Lance approach him.

“Hey, Leo.” Lance smiled back at him.

Leo looked handsome, as he always did when Lance saw him. His blonde hair was swept back. He was wearing a casual outfit that consisted of a navy blue sweatshirt, ripped jeans, and white sneakers. He smelled good too.

 _He looked like the opposite of Keith_.

He blushed at the sudden thought that made its way into his mind.

Yeah, he really  _did_ need to go on this date.

“Um,” Lance cleared his throat, trying to drown out his thoughts of Keith. “Before we go in, I have to tell you something that I’ve been thinking about all night last night...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh lance :') we definitely believe it when u say u don't like keith
> 
> anywayyy hope u guys enjoyed this and i hope u are having a great day!!
> 
> also i forgot to mention this is my first ever fic so feel free to leave any constructive criticism :)


	3. when the weather matches your mood

“Yes, Shiro. I’m fine, really.” Keith’s right arm was getting tired for holding his phone up for almost thirty minutes. He tucked his left arm under his right elbow for support.

“Are you sure? Because I get the feeling that you’re still eating takeout. It’s not bad, but it’s pretty ridiculous that you used to do that almost everyday,” Shiro told him. “I know you work out so at least be consistent of taking care of your body by eating healthy food."

“I don’t eat takeout everyday.” It was true. He now only ate it at least two to three times a week. He changed the subject. “So how’s visiting Matt going?”

Keith was glad when he went along with it but also knew the subject will be brought up again soon. “It’s great. He told me about this machine his dad just started to build. We’re both helping and I don’t  _exactly_  know what it’s going to be for but I’m sure it’ll be great.”

They talked for a bit more about the crazy stuff that happened during the planning of it and the fact that Shiro was going to be back home to work on his research with the help of Matt. Keith was the only one who knew about Matt coming back with Shiro and was sure it’ll be a good surprise for Pidge.

“Keith!” He heard Lance behind the door to the room. “Are you there? It’s me, Lance!”

Keith rolled his eyes.

 _As if_   _I wouldn’t know that voice._

“Is that Lance?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah, sorry but I gotta go now Shiro,” he quickly said. He headed to the door to open it.

“Oh okay. I want to ask you something, though. Do you–“

“Bye, Shiro! I’ll see you soon.” He ended the call and opened the door to see Lance’s fist up in the air like he was just about to knock. “Hey, Lance.”

“Hey.” Lance grinned at him. “Were you talking to someone?” He glanced around the room.

“I was on the phone with Shiro.”

“Oh! How is he? I haven’t seen him in so long,” Lance said. He skipped to sit down on Keith’s bed, bouncing on it a little and Keith glared. Lance just gave him a wide grin.

“He’s fine. You know, nagging about my life as usual,” he said but it was clear he wasn’t annoyed by it.

Lance chuckled. “Well that’s great, actually! No offense Keith but sometimes you need someone to get you going so I didn’t really know what to expect when he left, though I realized I didn’t have to worry at all.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. It was true. A lot of times, Shiro was the only person he could be really open to about his feelings and shit. Lately, he realized he was getting more comfortable with his friends. He continued speaking. “Me neither but I guess I found another person who does. Who makes me want to keep going, that is.” He blushed and looked down.

Lance’s eyes widened. “Who is it? Do I know them?”

Keith shrugged, dropping down to sit beside Lance. “I’d say you know him quite well, actually.”

Lance gasped. “Does Keif have a cruuush? How do I know him?”

Keith coughed and felt his cheeks get hotter. “No, I don't have a crush. And don't call me that!” He stood up. “Come on, Hunk and Pidge are waiting. Let me change my shirt first, though." He quickly added the last one when he remembered he had been wearing the same shirt for almost three days. He pictured Shiro giving him a disapproving look and he made it go away.

“You can’t just leave me hanging like that!” Lance pouted. Keith’s gaze landed on Lance’s mouth and he quickly redirected it back to his eyes (which wasn't much better, if he were being honest).

“Yes I can.”

He opened a drawer from his cabinet and grabbed the first shirt he found. He started to lift up his shirt when he heard a squeak from Lance. He looked at him curiously and saw how red Lance’s face was.

_Cute._

“Uh, you can look away if you want,” Keith told him and Lance immediately faced the other way.

_'If you want?'_

Keith mentally smacked himself. Why did Lance have to make things weird? Why was  _he_  so awkward around Lance? Of course he didn’t want to watch Keith change. What kind of person wanted to, anyway?

After he finished changing, they headed to a café a few blocks away from their building that just opened a few weeks back. He saw Hunk and Pidge talking on what looked like cozy seats and had three cups of beverages sitting on the table in front of them.

“Hey Losers number one and two,” Pidge greeted as they sat down. She seemed extra energetic which made Keith suspicious. Did all three cups of coffee on the table belong to Pidge?

He gave her a pointed look which she chose to ignore.

“Hey guys,” Hunk smiled. “Lance! You never really told us about your date.” He waggled his eyebrows.

Keith knew it was gonna be brought up sooner or later and he thought he was going to be ready for it but he wasn't. He was far from ready.

He tried to give Lance a casual look, as if he was interested enough like a good friend but not  _too_ interested that it was out of character for him. He ignored the look Pidge gave him.

“Oh! The date, yeah.” Lance’s cheeks flushed. “It was good… Uh, we talked a lot about our interests and stuff.” He paused. “And he likes the same music as me! Which is awesome.”

Keith tuned him out. Was he jealous? Yes. He’d admitted it to himself ever since Lance told him about it. And yes, he did have a crush on Lance. Did anybody know about it? Yeah, Pidge and Allura. And possibly Shiro. Pidge only knew about it recently and by recently, a day or two ago when he had finally gotten tired one day with Lance talking about that Leo guy. He had walked into their dorm and Pidge noticed how down he was and eventually, he spilled everything to her.

Allura knew for quite a while though. He didn’t know what it was about her that made him tell her about his crush of two months or so before but he was glad because he had someone to talk to about it. As for Shiro, he could tell he knew because of the way his voice changed to being careful and almost suggestive when Lance happened to be brought up in conversation. Hunk, on the other hand, Keith didn’t want to say anything to since he and Lance were really close.

“Isn’t that right, Keith?” Lance lightly bumped his shoulder against his.

“Huh? What?” Keith asked, noticing his friends’ expectant gazes. “What were you saying?”

“I was telling Hunk and Pidge about how you have a crush!”

Keith didn’t know why but Lance seemed more relaxed in the moment than he had been for the past few weeks. Then he realized that it was probably because of his date.

He tried to smile but it ended up being a grimace. “Er, I told you Lance. I don’t have a crush.”

“Yeah, Lance. Drop it. You know he has a cold heart or whatever.” Pidge laughed.

Keith ignored the insult and was just grateful that she told Lance to not talk about it.

Lance shrugged. “You know what? You’re right. And if anyone could melt that icy little heart of yours, it'll be me.” He poked Keith on the chest and winked at him.

He wanted to pull Lance close and kiss him right then and there.

“Yeah right,” he said instead and pushed Lance’s hand away. Lance pushed back and before he knew it, they were playfully pushing each other.

“Stop it.” Lance laughed when Keith leaned into him and grabbed his wrists while making sure Lance's clumsy ass didn't fall off the chair.

Keith never thought about having favorite sounds before but at the moment he thought that if he did have a list, Lance’s laugh would be at the top.

A few seconds of becoming distracted by Lance’s laugh meant that Lance was able to pull his hands away from Keith’s grip and grab both of Keith’s hands into his. They both stopped moving for a while, staring into each other’s eyes, before Keith panicked and he quickly removed his hands from Lance’s hold. “I hate you,” he muttered. His hands felt tingly.

“No you don’t.”

No, he didn’t.

Lance started to lean his head on Keith’s shoulder and Keith almost let him. He pushed him away because if he didn’t, there’d have been an endless amount of teasing which would’ve led to Lance finding out about his crush on him. And he was not ready for rejection. Also, Lance was sort of seeing someone else.

Before his crush on Lance, he didn’t mind the flirting since Lance did it to everyone he was close to. But now? Lance had been flirting with him even more than before and he guessed it was because they were closer, but it really hurt. It hurt that he knew he’ll only be considered as nothing more than a friend, and it hurt to know that Lance was doing it even without meaning to.

The worst part was Keith wanted more of it.

 _I’ll take it for now_ , he told himself, knowing that the day will come when Lance would be officially dating someone and he won’t be around to hang as much anymore.

He ignored the part of his brain that told him how much of an idiot he was.

 

* * *

 

Keith wasn’t always the kind of person to vent his feelings out, even to his friends and Shiro. He was the kind of person who would rather listen to other people ramble. It was the least he could do since he wasn’t that good at giving advice and didn't know how to give a proper hug.

But there he was in Altea Pastries, elbows on the counter and leaning forward a little, rambling to Allura. He was lucky there weren’t any people at the moment since the shop had just opened.

“They’re clearly made for each other,” he was saying. “Their names even start with the same letter! Ugh, why did I have to develop feelings for that idiot?” He ran a hand through his hair. He remembered even Lance didn't like his hair. He pouted at the thought.

Allura slid a place with a slice of blueberry cake toward him. “Really? This early in the morning?” He stared at the slice. It was even in Lance’s favorite color.

“Oh come on, just for today. Maybe it might cheer you up a little." She nudged his elbow with hers. “Besides, Lance and… What’s his name?”

“Leo.”

She continued, “Yeah that. Their names might start with the same letter but what kind of ship name would that form? Klance is so much better than… Leance? Lanco?” She made a silly face, making him snort.

He grabbed the fork on the plate and started eating the cake. He sighed. “It doesn’t matter anyway. And even if Lance didn’t like anyone, there’s no way he’d see me the way I see him.” He flinched slightly at the truth his own words held.

Allura frowned. “Keith, stop saying that. You may not see it but you’re an amazing person! I’m sure even Lance can see that.” She handed him a glass of water.

“Thanks, Allura.” He sighed maybe for the nth time that morning. “Why do I like him so much?” He whispered quietly.

He wasn’t exactly sure when he had started to have feelings for Lance. They first met in the cafeteria. Pidge had introduced them together and the second thing he noticed about him was that he was  _loud_. The first thing was that he was good looking, but never mind that. One of his first thoughts was Lance was the exact opposite of Keith.

On that day, Lance had said Keith’s name as if they already knew each other which was weird since Keith had never seen him before that. Lance had frowned and told him they had the same class together, and they were practically rivals, to which Keith shrugged to in response and took his seat beside Pidge. Lance gawked at that and that was when he started annoying Keith any chance he could get. As days and weeks passed, the arguments and glares sent to each other lessened and they had started talking almost normally.

Maybe that was when his feelings started. When he had realized that they actually had more things in common than he initially thought. Like the way they loved accepting challenges and going on adventures. And the way they both loved learning about space.

Or maybe his feelings started when they went to a party with Hunk and Pidge once. They weren't really friends at the time but it was the point where they actually knew how to talk to each other without one or both getting mad. Lance had noticed how uncomfortable Keith was in the small place that contained loads of bodies almost pressed together with loud music blaring from the speakers.

Lance had led him to a corner where there were less noise and people and they sat on the chairs there. He blabbed to Keith about anything and everything, spitting out nonsense that actually made Keith laugh a few times. At first, Keith thought he was just trying to annoy him, but the next day he realized Lance was only trying to distract him and making sure he was comfortable.

Keith didn’t know what face he was making that made Allura sigh. “You know you can’t control how you feel for someone, Keith.”

He nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I just need to move on.”

“That’s not what I–“

“I saw them once together, Allura,” he said. His chest felt heavy. “In the library. He was making Lance laugh and I could just tell how good they are together. And I thought it was only a fleeting crush that I won't even remember having in the future, but seeing them together made me realize how strong my feelings for him are." He looked down, feeling embarrassed at the confession. He tried to push away the memory. Keith didn’t even know how to make Lance laugh the way Leo did. “I mean, I like that he’s happy. I really do. Seeing him with someone just… hurts, I guess.”

He was surprised when Allura gave him a hug, as much as she could anyway with the counter between them. “Oh Keith.” She rubbed circles on his back and Keith relaxed in her hold.

When they heard the chime of the bell of the door, they pulled apart.

“Hey Coran,” Keith greeted Allura’s uncle. The man was carrying two paper bags which Keith guessed contained ingredients for the pastries. He took one from him and helped him put them where they needed to be.

“Thanks, Keith!”

Keith did not know how the man was always so happy but it was almost contagious. Almost.

“Now if you two will excuse me, I’m gonna be back there for a while!” He said.

“Oh. Do you need some help?” Allura asked.

Coran smiled and shook his head no. “It’s fine. Besides, it looks like Keith needs a friend right now.” He nodded once at Keith before opening the door to the back where the kitchen was.

Keith pursed his lips. “Am I that obvious? Do I look that bad right now?”

Allura gave him a pitying smile. “You don’t look bad, Keith,” she said, not answering the first question.

The bell chimed again. The look on Allura’s face made him start to turn around. She quickly grabbed the sides of his face and looked him in the eyes. “Promise me you won’t freak out.”

“W-What?”

“Just promise me.”

The look on her face did make him curious so he nodded. “I promise?” She let go of his face and he quickly looked over his shoulder. Oh.

It was Lance.

He looked good, as usual. Keith thought it was cute how Lance always put effort to take care of himself and look great no matter the occasion. He even looked great when he wasn’t trying at all.

What saddened Keith even more though, was Leo walking beside him. He took a deep breath as they approached Keith and Allura.

“Keith, Allura! Hey!” Lance grinned, looking at the both of them curiously, probably wondering why they were together that early in the morning. He gestured to Leo. “This is Leo.”

Leo smiled at them and gave them a hug. Keith froze and awkwardly patted his back. “Hi! I heard so much about you guys.”

“Same with you,” Allura told him, smiling. Keith could see how tense she was.

Keith cleared his throat. He wasn’t able to meet Lance’s eyes. “So, you two are on a date again?” He  _really_  didn’t want to hear what Lance was going to say even though they probably were because Keith had seen how good they were together when he saw them in the library from afar.

Lance and Leo looked at each other then smiled widely like they had an inside joke or something. Keith tried not to be jealous. Well, even more jealous than he was.

More people came in so Allura told them she was gonna be busy for a while. She asked for Lance and Leo’s orders. As they got the food, Lance turned to Keith. “Hey, you can go sit with us if you want.”  He gestured to the chairs where their group usually sat on.

Keith felt his heartbeat quicken. Did Lance just ask him as if _he_ wanted to go sit with them and make him watch them be cute and gross and stuff? Fuck no.

He remembered where Lance pointed to. Oh shit, he didn’t think about Leo becoming a part of their friend group. Was he going to be a part of the friend group from now on?

Keith felt his phone buzz in his pocket so he took it out. It was a text from Pidge.

**Pidge [7:18 a.m.]**

**u can’t stop me!!!! u can choke for being a morning person**

**also, pls bring me a cup of coffee on the way back thanks uwu**

**wait make that 2**

He sighed. It was a reply to his text regarding her ridiculous and concerning sleeping schedule. He looked up at Lance and wondered why he seemed nervous and almost shy. Probably because Leo was standing right there. Lance blushed and Keith realized he had been staring.

“U-Uh,” he stammered, looking away from Lance’s face. “Sorry, Lance. Pidge just texted that she needed me to help her with, uh, with something.” He glanced outside the big glass window and saw droplets of rain fall from the sky. It only took a few more seconds before the rain started to pour heavily. He wasn't sure if he had an umbrella with him but at that moment, he didn't even care anymore.

Keith thought Lance looked sad by his answer and mentally scolded himself for imagining such things. “Oh! Okay. I’ll see you soon then?” He smiled at Keith.

Keith smiled back a little, almost forgetting about Leo standing beside Lance.

“See you, Lance.”

There was a sudden roar of thunder that startled Lance and made him start fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. One wouldn't have noticed this tiny act Lance did to calm himself down if they didn't know about him and his fear of thunder, which he claimed he didn't have anymore.

Keith turned to walk away.

He was so,  _so_  hopeless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do u ever just get sad bc u can't hug a character? lol
> 
> hope u guys enjoy this!!


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